"Is this true?!" Inuyasha's eyes widened in shock. He had never expected the other party to make such a bold request. If Sebastian truly meant what he said, then wouldn't that mean Inuyasha could obtain the Jewel without lifting a finger?
"Of course it's true." Sebastian smiled calmly and nodded.
He wasn't lying, at least not entirely. The jewel in his hand was merely a counterfeit. From the beginning, he had never once claimed that it was the real Jewel. Sebastian was simply playing a clever word game.
"Just be a guard!" Inuyasha sneered, showing a rare grin.
"No," Sebastian replied with a faint smile. "There is still something else to be done. Come with me to my Lab. There will be people waiting to receive you."
What Sebastian meant was the gene extraction experiment. As a half-demon, Inuyasha naturally possessed tremendous research value.
Soon enough, the number of guards increased from two to three. At first, the two monks were shocked to see Inuyasha standing among them. Never in their lives did they expect to be working alongside a monster. They could only assume that Inuyasha had been subdued and forced into service.
During those first days, Inuyasha remained proud and stubborn. He refused to eat the food offered by humans, and Sebastian, seeing this, refused to provide him with anything else. What made it worse was that his companions were all exorcists. There was no bond, no trust, only hostility and division.
Inuyasha couldn't make sense of Sebastian's arrangement. Why force him into this humiliating role? The thought gnawed at him, stirring a bitter conflict in his heart.
But pride doesn't fill an empty stomach. One evening, just as his hunger grew unbearable, Master Mibu approached with a roasted sweet potato in hand.
"We're comrades in arms now," Miroku said gently. "Eat, quickly."
Inuyasha hesitated, his pride warring against his need. At last, he accepted the offering, biting into it with uncharacteristic silence. His life was spared, yes, but to be reduced to nothing more than a guard left him deeply unsettled.
What troubled him even more, however, was Sebastian's uncanny presence. His strange ability, his air of omniscience, Inuyasha felt as though his every move was being watched, every thought anticipated. Who exactly was this man? Still, fortune hid within misfortune. At least he had survived.
After finishing the sweet potato, Inuyasha glanced toward his fellow guardians. For all their quirks, the monks weren't as intolerable as he had first imagined.
"Are you full?" the two asked with warm smiles.
"Mm." Inuyasha gave a small nod of thanks.
"Good. Then that's all that matters."
At that moment, the smell of roasting meat filled the air. Miyatsu and Miroku had somehow produced a whole roast chicken and began to eat it with great relish.
"What a pity," one of them teased. "I thought of giving you a piece, Inuyasha. But since you noticed, well, I guess we'll have to finish it ourselves."
"Tch. One day I'll beat you both to the ground," Inuyasha muttered, though even he didn't truly believe it. Who would have thought a proud half-demon like him would one day live under the same roof as human exorcists?
Time passed quickly. Weeks slipped away.
"Tsubaki, are you truly determined to leave the Village?" Inside a shrine, an aged witch knelt before a solemn statue. Her hands placed the final offering at its feet, and with eyes closed, she spoke in a voice filled with gravity and reverence, "You should know, once you leave, returning will not be so simple. Is it because of that Sebastian's domain?"
"Master, my decision is made. There is no turning back." Tsubaki bowed low, pressing her forehead to the mat in deep respect. After offering several reverent kowtows, she rose and departed without hesitation.
She had never intended to abandon the village. The Village had been her home, her place of training, and the foundation of all she knew. But the past month had changed everything.
As Sebastian's reputation grew, especially after he dealt with the God, merchants who once relied on the village for protection began leaving in droves, seeking prosperity elsewhere. Many resettled in Maple Village, turning their backs on the old traditions.
This exodus left the Village in decline, breeding resentment among its residents. Their pride wounded, many exorcists began to harbor resentment toward Sebastian. Whispers spread, sharp and venomous.
"He's been tainted by the Jewel of Four Souls."
"He's a puppet of the jewel."
"No, he's a monster, waiting to devour us all."
The voices of jealousy and fear grew into a chorus of denunciation.
When Tsubaki, who had long stood beside Sebastian, returned to speak on his behalf, she found no allies. Instead, her words branded her a traitor. Her heart, once tethered to the village, now filled only with disappointment. Exorcists were meant to protect humanity from demons. Yet here they were, consumed not by duty but by envy of Sebastian's power.
And there was another reason she chose to leave, Kikyo. Kikyo's growth was staggering. Under Sebastian's guidance, she had advanced beyond anything Tsubaki could match.
What Tsubaki did not know was that these spells came from another world. Using the system's power, Sebastian had transplanted techniques, physical potential, and skills into Kikyo, granting her mastery over arts unknown to this world.
From Tsubaki's perspective, it seemed as if Kikyo had received secret, forbidden knowledge from Sebastian alone. Once, Kikyo had bowed respectfully to her. Now she stood as a shrine maiden of greater power, her spiritual energy radiating beyond measure.
The reason was obvious: Kikyo had acknowledged Sebastian as her teacher. With his guidance, her once-dormant talent blossomed into brilliance.
Though Tsubaki herself had studied under Sebastian, she had only learned techniques, not the true essence behind them. For someone who had always prided herself on strength, watching another surpass her so completely was intolerable.